Means for keeping working rolls in contact with backing rolls and supporting rollers in rolling mills



CH LS I March 8, 1960 2,927,489 N CONTACT WITH BACKING LERS IN ROLLINGMILLS 2 Sheets-Sheet l A. TEUTS MEANS FOR KEEPING WOR G ROLLS AND SUPPORG 1956 Filed April 16,

L? IR.

NVENTO@ d .Te 0256 cjb www March 8, 1960 A. TEUTscH 2,927,489-

MEANs RoR KEEPING WORKING RoLLs IN CONTACT WITH BACKING n ROLLS ANDSUPPORTING ROLLERS IN ROLLING MILLS Flled Aprll 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet2 gil i TG1/wch United States Patent vC n MEANS FOR KEEPING WORKINGROLLS IN CON- TACT WITH BACKING ROLLS AND SUPPORT- ING ROLLERS INROLLING MILLS Arno Teutsch, Hosel, Dusseldorf, Germany, assignor toSchloemann Aktiengesellschaft, Dusseldorf, Germany Application April 16,1956, Serial No. 578,285 Claims priority, application Germany April 1S,1955 3 Claims. (Cl. 80-38) This invention relates to means for keepingthe working rolls in contact with their supporting or backing rolls andsupporting rollers in those four-roll cold-rolling roll stands in whichthe working rolls are supported in a horizontal position on the one handby their displacement out of the plane containing the axes of thebacking rolls and on the other hand by supporting rollers bearing uponthe roll bodies. Since moreover the working rolls, with a view to therolling of thin, hard strips, are of very small diameter, they cannot bedriven directly, but are driven by frictional contact with thepositively driven backing rolls.

This frictional drive is satisfactorily effected as long as the materialthat is being rolled is present between the working rolls, and the rollpressure provides for pressing the working rolls rmly enough againsttheir backing rolls. When the rolled material comes to an end, however,a frictional drive is no longer ensured. Likewise the contact of theworking rolls with the backing rolls and supporting rollers can nolonger be ensured, since this is conditioned by the forces acting in theroll gap. Devices must therefore be provided which constantly press theworking rolls against their backing rolls and supporting' rollers.

In order to keep the working rolls in contact with the backing rolls infour-roll cold-rolling roll stands it has already been proposed toprovide, at each end of the working rolls, a pair of rollers, therollers of each pair being urged towards on another by springs, while atthe same time the working rolls are urged asunder and towards thebacking rolls. With these appliances it is only possible to cause thevworking rolls to bear against the backing rolls, but not to keep theworking rolls in constant contact with the supporting rollers. Keepingthe Working rolls in contact with the backing rolls and also thesupporting rollers would be possible only by means of rollers orpressure pieces pressed toward the supporting rollers on one sidebetween the working rolls. In any case, however, these appliances dono-t permit the roll gap to be opened as widely as might be desired,since ultimately the distance between the rolls would become greaterthan the diameter of the pressure rollers.

Now the object of the present invention is to provide a means which willkeep the working rolls unconditionally in contact with the supportingrollers and with the backing rolls, and which will follow the movementsof the backing rolls during adjustment. i

For this purpose, according to the invention, on each end of the Workingrolls, on the side remote from the supporting rollers, a pressure pieceis caused to act, which is movably mounted on one end of a lever arm,which is so pivoted to a part of the housing as to be rockable in aradial plane of the Working roll and is arranged approximately parallelto the plane containing the axes of the backing rolls. The lever isrockable towards the working roll, and can be rocked in this directionby a stressing device acting upon it, which is likewise sup- 2,927,489Patented Mar. 3, 1960 ported in the housing part, whereby the pressurepiece can be brought into contact with the working roll.

A rigid supporting of the working roll in the direction of the pressurepieces is obtained, according to a further feature of thisv invention,by providing, as the stressing device, a toggle-lever mechanism, aneccentric, or a hydraulic lifting cylinder provided with a shut-offvalve. By arranging a lifting cylinder as the stressing device, the timerequired for assembling or dismantling the working rolls is considerablyshortened.

IInv order that the point of attachment of. the pressure piece mayalways remain in its most advantageous position near to the roll gap,and that this position may not be altered even with the re-facing of theworking rolls and supporting rollers, the invention further providesthat the pivot by which the lever that carries the pressure.

piece is pivoted to the housing part is arranged in a slot or the likein the housing part, in which it is displaceable towards the workingroll.

In the rolling mills of the kind to which this invention relates, thereis, however, frequently interposed, between the working rolls and thesupporting rollers that support them in a horizontal position, anintermediate roll, so as to be independent, in selecting the diameter ofthe working rolls, of the diameter of the supporting rollers, which isfixed as a result of the horizontal supporting forces, and also in orderto be able to bring the supporting rollers into contact with the backingrolls, since the working rolls can by this means receive an additionalfrictional drive through the medium of the supporting rollers and theintermediate rolls, and the parallelism of the axes of the backing rollsand the working rolls is ensured.

Provision is therefore made to render the means provided according tothis invention for supporting the-working rolls available when employingan intermediate roll between the working rolls and the supportingrollers. In particular, a separate means for supporting the intermediateroll is to be avoided. Y

According to this feature of the invention, when employing intermediaterolls, each intermediate roll, together with its associated workingroll, is journalled in two arms, which are rockable about the axis ofthesupporting rollers, and which keep the axes of the intermediate roll,the working roll and the supporting rollers in one plane. `In this casethe bearing pieces mounted upon the ends of the intermediate rolls areguided in grooves extending along the rockable arms, and are movable insuch a way as to permit the axes of the working rolls, the intermediaterolls and the supporting rollers to approach one another.

The diameter of the working rolls does not as a rule permit the workingrolls to be journalled in the usual manner in the arms that hold theiraxes in the same plane with the axes of the intermediate rolls and thesupporting rollers, since the bearings should not exceed the diameter ofthe working rolls. It is therefore provided, according to a furtherfeature of the invention, to arrange, at the end of each arm, a pressurepiece displaceable towards the bearing of the working rolls, in thedirection of the plane containing the axes of the working roll, thebacking roll and the supporting rollers, this pressure piece halfembracing, like a fork, the bearing of the working roll. The arms,rockable relatively -to the axis of the supporting rollers, are here tobe undisplaceable relatively to the axis of the supporting rollers inparticular, whereas the pressure pieces arranged on the arms aredisplaceable towards the bearing of the working roll by the force of aspring or of a hydraulically or pneumatically actuated piston. Similarlythe bearings of the intermediate roll are to be displaceable in guideson the arms in the same direction as the pressure pieces embracing theworking-roll bearings. t

One lconstructional example according to the invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which: Y

Figures l and 2 show a side View and a plan of the apparatus with aliftinglcyliuders the Stressing device.

Figure l and Figure 2 show one possibility of supporting the workingrolls, which are here denoted by f 1b and 2b. In order still to keep thepoint of engagement 25 o f the pressure pieces 11b and 12b to theworking rolls 1b and 2b as near to the roll gap as possible, thepressure pieces A11b and 12b are herearranged on lever arms 2 6, which,for the adjusting of the pressure pieces 11b and 12b, are mainlydisplaced towards the working rolls 1b and 2b in guides 27, extending inthe housing parts 6b and '7b peipendicularly to plane V9b containing theaxesk of the Working rolls. placements of the working rolls 1b and 2bare allowed for by guiding the lever arms 26 by bolts 2S in slots 29 in`guides V217. The end position of the bolts 2S can be adjusted by meansof set screws 30.

By means of lifting cylinders 32 which are roc-liable in theV housingparts 6b and '7b about bolts 31, and the pistons 33 of which are pivotedby way of pins 34 to the arms 26, the pressuregp'ieces 11b and 12b canbe brought into contact with the bearings 35 of the working rolls 1b and2b. A valve, not shown, shuts off the return of the pressure medium fromthe lifting cylinders 32, so that the supporting of the working rolls 1band 2b in a horizontal direction is etected in an absolutely rigidmanner by the pressure pieces 11b and 12b.

A further peculiarity of the construction illustrated consists in theprovision of intermediate rolls 36 and 37 between the working rolls 1band 2b and the supporting rollers 38 and 39, whereby these can assist intransmitting the torque from the motor-driven backing rolls 3b and 4b tothe working rolls 1b and 2b.

Here the intermediate rolls 36 and 37, with their bear- The verticaldising pieces4 40, are freely slida'ble in grooves 41 in arms e 43,which are rockable about the axes 42 of the supporting rollers. Thesearms 43 are supported by way of forked pressure pieces `#t4 on thebearings 35 ofthe working rolls 1b and 2b. The pressure pieces dt-,torthe purpose of reliably clamping the bearings 35 of the working rolls 1band 2b between themselves and the pressure pieces 11b and 12b even whenthe axial distance of the working rolls 1b and 2b and of the supportingrollers 38 and 39 changes, are connected with the arms 43 by way ofpistons 46 guided in straight lines in cylinder spaces A45. By causingpressure uid to act upon the pistons 46, the pressure pieces 44 arecaused to press 'against the bearings 35 of the working rolls 1b and 2b.

In order that the supporting rollers 38 and 39, and also the workingrolls 1b and 2b, may be kept in contact with the backing lrolls 3b and4b even when the backing rolls 3b and 4b change their distance apartupon adjustment, the carriers 47 of the supporting rollers 33 and 39 areso supported on supporting bridges 48 as to be slidable in a verticaldirection. To the carriers 47 are rockably pivoted at 49 tension links50, which are connected with levers 52., rockable about bolts 51. Thebolts 51 are mounted in the'supporting bridges 48 fitted to a standard53. By means of pressure cylinders 54, hearing at one end against thesupporting bridges 48 and at the other end against the levers 52,-thefrictional bearing of the supporting rollers 33 and 3 9 and of theworking rolls ib and 2b against the backing4 rolls 3b and 4b is ensuredby the levers '52 and the tension links 50.

i claim: s

l. A multi-roll stand, comprising: a roll housing, including twosupporting bridges, two working rolls'supported in the roll housing, twomotor-driven backing rolls, journaled in the roll housing, driving theworling rolls by' friction, the piane containing the axes lof theworking rolls being oit-set out of the plane containing the axes of thebacking rolls, two carriers supported by and vertically slidabie on thesupporting bridges of the roll housing, supporting roller means, atleast one for each working roll, journalled in thesaid carriers on thatside of the plane containing the axes of the working rolls which isremote from the plane containing the axes of the backing rolls, separateadjustable pressure pieces engaging the necks of the working rolls,intermediate rolls,

one between each working roll and its supporting roller means,power-operated means pressing each working roll against its intermediateroll and thereby pressing the intermediate roll against its supportingroller means, further power-operated means on the supporting bridgespressing the supporting rolle-r means into frictional engagement withtheir backing rolls, and arms rock-able about the axes of the supportingroller means, the working and intermediate rolls being iournaled inbearings slidable on the roc'lrable arms.

2. A multi-roll stand as claimed in claim l, the said rockable arms eachbeing forked at its free end, and the forked ends of these armsembracing the ends of the working rolls and exerting a resilientlyyielding thrust against them.

3. A multi-roll stand as claimed in claim 1, compris- 'ing lever armsrockably mounted on the roll housing, each pressure piece being rockablymounted at the free end of one of these lever arms in such a positionthat it can be swung towards and away from its associated working rollon the side remote from the supporting roller means, and pivot boltsseverally connecting the pressure pieces with` the lever arms.

Reiierences Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,892,933 Coryell Jan. 3, 1933 2,160,767 Wadsworth May 30, 19392,601,792 Dahlstrom July l, 1952 2,685,807 Hudson Aug. l0, 1954 FOREIGNPATENTS 752,351 Great Britain July 1l, 1956 1,097,650 lFrance Feb. 23,1955

